You're Not Alone
by ImaginationFlow
Summary: Angela had locked herself away from the rest of the world, is he the only one who can help her? Or is she really a lost cause like the villagers say. All he needs is a little faith.
1. Insane Silence

You're Not Alone

1. Insane Silence

"Gill…?"

The soft, quiet voice was all too familiar. I'd heard it many times, and yet the village had barely heard it twice. Angela wasn't a vocal person; she preferred to keep to herself, slaving under the burning sun at the crack of dawn.

I placed my pen down beside my work, and looked up at her. Her eyes were brimming with tears, and her nose was red from sniffing. Even I could say she looked terrible. "Angela, why are you crying?" I asked her, gesturing her to sit on a chair.

She peered at me, through her thick lashes. "Your advice…" She whispered, wiping away the tears. "Your advice was wrong…" She finished, wrapping her arms around herself tightly.

My advice? What advice was wrong?

"What did I tell you?" I muttered, rubbing her shoulder reassuringly.

I watched her shoulders slump into the chair, with a frown implanted on her face. "You told me I should tell him how I feel…" She answered, looking at me properly.

My eyes widened, and I remembered encouraging her to do such a thing. "It didn't work out?" I asked, though I was sure I knew the answer already.

She shook her head lightly, and she squeezed her eyes shut, wanting the tears to go away. I couldn't tell what ran through her mind then, she held her emotions locked up inside her heart, where no one could reach it. I knew it wasn't healthy for her to do this; but when it came to this situation, what could you do? It wasn't right to leave her all alone, since I had promised to never abandon her.

--

Since that day, she came to the Town Hall more often. I'd often find her gazing into the dreamy, blue skies when I came in the morning to work, and I'd see her staring at the wall, on the sofa when I was to leave. What she was doing wasn't healthy. She needed to make friends with someone, or she'd go further into her shell, and what worried me most was… that I might not be able to bring her back. I needed to act fast before what worried me came true, because I wouldn't just be worried for her- but for me, and what I would do with myself afterwards.

--

I strolled into the Town Hall, my arms casually swaying as I moved along. But it was all an act. I gazed subtly beside me, looking worriedly at the frail, limp girl that silently stood beside me with an expressionless face. I missed her gentle smile, and the flicker of hope and determination that used to glow in her eye. All she was to me now… was a girl in desperate need of help.

I looked forward at Elli, who was gazing at Angela with pitiful, sympathetic eyes. I glared at her, signalling her to stop with a hand. She turned her head at me, with begging eyes. She wanted the same as I, to have the old Angela back.

I hovered around the sofa, and as usual, she quietly sat down and looked blankly at the wall, her eyes dead, no sign of anything human. She was like a stranger now, and it was my fault. My advice, _my stupid advice._ And she'd listened to it, happily. Because… it was what she wanted to hear.

I sighed, and too distressed to watch any longer, I made my way to my desk. The one thing that could steal away any trace of the guilt, the one thing that could let me fly away into a comfort zone that held me safe from life's horrible grasp. It was like taking a stress pill for me, it cured me.

As I picked up my pen, I glanced at Elli, who sat working with a permanent grimace. I sighed again and begun writing.

--

"Gill?" I heard a familiar voice call, my head snapped up in an instance, with a frown that always appeared. Elli returned the frown with a small smile, as she glanced warily to the sofa. "It's time to go…"

I watched as Angela automatically stood up, and made way to the door, leaving without a word said throughout the day. Her problem was getting steadily worse…

I nodded, and stood up myself, brushing my clothes down. I grabbed my pile of work, like normal and followed Angela out of the door, when I heard Elli call me faintly. "Gill…?"

I looked at her over my shoulder, my eyebrows furrowed with confusion. "What, Elli?"

"I… need to talk to you…" She whispered, sitting herself exactly where Angela had previously sat. "It's about… Angela."

I didn't need this, I couldn't deal with my problems and her problems, I couldn't _handle _it, it was driving me insane… I just needed some time; I needed to think it through! But… I'd had plenty of time, hadn't I?

I nodded, and sat silently beside her. The vibe of worry flew through the air, and taunted me with all its might.

We sat in silence, and I watched as Elli bit her lip nervously, obviously uncomfortable about saying anything. She took a deep breath, and gave me a concerned smile. "Gill… You've seen the way Angela is, haven't you?"

My eyes cast down, and I felt her gaze on me even if I couldn't see it. I hesitated, then looked up, glumly. "Yeah…" I agreed, grimacing as I retraced back to moments ago, when I looked into her soulless eyes. It was torture; it wasn't something I could handle anymore.

"When are you going to do something about it?"

My head snapped up, and I glared at her hard, my eyes cold and bitter. "How do you know I can?" I snapped, rubbing my temple frustratedly.

Elli smiled reassuringly at me, "Of course you can, Gill. You're the only one she'll let close, everyone else has given up hope."

"Well, so have I…" I mumbled, frowning down at my lap. "She's gone… and I should have done something sooner."

Elli shook her head, "Don't give up on her, Gill. She needs you, or she'll waste her life like she is now…" She said.

"I… I'll try." I said, hastily standing up. "But there's no guarantee even I can unlock that heart."

--

The next day, when I stood outside the door, I turned to her, with a small smile graced on my lips. "Angela…?" I asked.

She ignored me, staring blankly at the door. Her once shiny and short hair was now dull, and messy, with strands of hair longer than others. She used to look pretty… maybe even beautiful. But now… I couldn't even bring myself to say it.

I frowned, and tried again: "Angela?"

She gazed at me with her wide, brown eyes. Her mouth was in a grim line, and her face showed no emotion, as always. She looked weak, and most importantly, she looked alone…

I snapped my eyes tightly shut, and let out an aggravated sigh. I just needed to hear her, she was tearing me apart, and she didn't even realise it.

"Angela, please!" I cried out, shaving her by her shoulders, with what started gently, was now rough. I pulled my hands away, and looked at her face. Her eyes were brimmed with light tears that dripped innocently down her pale face, and yet mocked me with every little inch that it fell. I was going insane… I needed to hear her, or I'd do something I'd regret.

"Gill…" She whispered, so faint I almost missed it. I looked at her with my eyes wide, had I just imagined it? Her mouth moved so little I could have missed it again. "Gill, why…?" She murmured, and her eyes looked up at me with sad, wanting emotions. Had Angela come back for me… or had I waited too long?

**Note: **This is an attempt at an emotional fanfiction. Yes, you can mock me if you want. I found the first part of this chapter in my fanfiction folder in 'My Documents'. I must have written it and then assumed it was crap and abandoned it. But… I wanted to write this, since I felt like writing some emotional crap, since that's the area I need to improve in. Review please!


	2. Spoken Words

**Spoken Words**

The next day, I came towards the Town Hall, as usual. Angela sat there, with her legs crossed and her head tilted up to the sky. She looked the same as she'd been for the past few weeks. Dull, dead and lonely. And that little inkling of hope that today might be the day she changed… shattered. I did all I could do to hold myself from shaking her last night; maybe it would work… but I couldn't hurt her to satisfy myself. I needed her back, because I was going insane.

Angela and me go back quite a bit. She moved to this island, like she was now, yet somehow brighter. She… had a sort of glow about her that just made me want to talk to her. And most of all she wanted to be friends with someone like me. But that's what ruined her, isn't it? She'd been here for about a year, maybe two. She didn't really make a big deal out of all the attention she was getting. After all, when was the last time someone moved here? But I'm so glad she did, because without her… I'd be useless.

I smiled lightly at her, and walked over to the door. By now, I felt Angela's empty presence behind me. I opened the door, and went inside, and went to hover around the sofa, like I normally did. I caught Elli's staring, and was about to ask her to stop- when I noticed the longing that I felt in her eyes, for Angela to change. Then, I remembered my promise, and took a sharp breath.

I looked weakly at Angela, who sat quietly on our sofa; with that expression that killed me with every second I saw it. "Good morning Angela…" I mumbled, snapping my eyes shut. I hated how she refused to speak, or acknowledge my presence at all.

Silence. "Morning…" I heard a faint voice, and my eyes snapped open to check I wasn't imagining it. But she was sat there, with her eyes looking into mine, but they were cold, and empty- and my heart began to beat fast.

"Angela?" I heard from behind me, and watched as Elli stood up from her desk, her eyes wide with amazement. "Angela…? Can you hear me?" She asked, waving her hand in front of her eyes. But, Angela's vision didn't waver. She still looked into my eyes, without blinking… and I begun to worry again.

"Can you hear her?" I asked her, and prepared myself for no answer, no response…

"Her…?" She whispered, and she cast her eyes down.

I furrowed my brow. "Elli, Angela. Can you hear Elli?"

She shook her head lightly.

How could she not hear her? Elli bit her lip, and looked worriedly at me. "She needs to see Jin, Gill…" She said faintly, her eyes back onto Angela. "It's what's best for her."

"He can't _do _anything!" I cried out, landing beside on the sofa, "Don't you understand|?! _None_ of us can!"

Elli kept quiet for a moment. "That's not true, Gill…" She whispered quietly. "You promised you'd try… You promised."

"But, I have!" I yelled, standing up. "She's… she's gone, Elli. None of us can help her anymore…"

She was gone, and the guilt that flooded my body accused me as the reason. And, I knew it was true. And I couldn't fight against it, because… I knew I couldn't win.

"Gone…?"

My eyes snapped to her face, and my face gentled at the sight of it. But inside it was driving me insane; for she was the only one that could make me like this, and… she was the only one that could help me.

I smiled gently. "Don't worry, Angela…"

--

The next week… was something indescribable. She… slowly got better, and yet all I wanted was to see her try harder. I wanted… no, I needed, to see her smile. But this, this made me feel so warm inside, something that I hadn't felt for so long.

"Good morning, Angela." Elli called cheerfully from behind her desk, which was piled high with stacks of the town's paperwork.

Angela looked up, and nodded towards her. But, she didn't smile. And that was what I wanted so badly. As Angela sat down on the sofa, I walked over to Elli's desk, and gave her a questioning look. "Elli, why are you so behind on your paperwork?"

Elli rolled her eyes. "It's not _my _work," She stated, stacking them into one big pile. "It's _yours_."

"But I did all mine yesterday." I said, crossing my arms firmly.

Elli shook her head. "No… You did half of it yesterday. Not all of your work would fit on your desk…"

"Since when did we get so much work?!"

"Since Angela came by, a few weeks back." She answered, grimacing at her words.

"But that doesn't make any sense… How does that affect other people?"

"It doesn't, Gill." Elli said, "You haven't been working as fast as you usually do since that day. And I'm not surprised, how can you work with that poor, depressing girl sat in here?"

"I _what_? I never work slowly…!" I exclaimed, glowering at the piles of paper.

"I guess you do now…" Elli mumbled, but then smiled brightly. "But, it's alright. I'm going to help you get through it!"

"Great," I grumbled, casting my head down.

"Smile! You're so uptight…!"

I glared at her. "I'm not going to smile till she does."

--

"Angela…?"

Her gentle, sad eyes matched my own, with a hint of emotion, but not enough.

"It's time to go…" I murmured, looking at her intently. "Do you want to come to my house?"

She shook her head lightly, and her brown hair swayed unenthusiastically.

I furrowed my brow, and asked: "Oh… Do you want me to walk you home?"

She shook her head again, and her lips parted as she begun to speak. "Going to… Pond."

"Pond…?" I mumbled as she wandered out of the doors, her arms wrapped insecurely around herself.

She always returned to her farm after I felt at five. I had often seen her walking around her barn and house as if she was a ghost, who had yet to be allowed to sleep. Her eyes were always bloodshot, because she refused to sleep at night. Her only chance of having a proper night of sleep was if she got better. But _was _she really getting better? Or was I fooling myself into believing she could ever be the girl she was? All I knew at this moment was whatever happened to her would affect my life for the better or for the worse.

And that's probably what scared me most.

* * *

**Note: **Do you like…? I don't think this is as good as it could have been. I was amazed when I saw all the reviews, favourite stories and story alerts in my inbox this morning. And please understand, I have school during the whole week (Obviously) and I can't write everyday. I tend to leave my writing to the weekends, but next week, I'm hoping I'll be able to update faster, since it's half term. Just live with me, please? And, review!


	3. Awkward Conversations

**Awkward Conversations**

"Hello Gill," Elli greeted, waving enthusiastically. She then pursed her lips, and glanced over my shoulder. Her eyes fell to mine. "Where's Angela?" She asked, moving away from her desk.

"Angela…?" I called, narrowing my eyes and turning around. And unusually, she wasn't there. I briefly checked the rest of the hall, but as Elli had clearly indicated… Angela wasn't here. Where the hell was she? Not that I was bothered, she had her own life, a while back- admittedly. Perhaps she had finally decided it was time she remade her friends. Maybe she decided Elli and I weren't good enough. That brought me a little grief for the moment. That didn't mean she would stop visiting, would it? I turned my eyes back to hers. "Huh? Strange… She's not here."

"You didn't realise she wasn't there this morning?" Elli questioned, raising an eyebrow. She looked ever so slightly amused.

I looked away, feeling a little embarrassed. I shouldn't have been so unobservant; it resulted in me missing important things- a few weeks back being an extreme case. And I hated myself for it, because had I not had this pathetic, useless little trait, Angela wouldn't be like she was. It infuriated me, and burned inside, however small the problem was. Why couldn't I just pay attention to what she had asked? Why did I let such a huge slip ruin her life?

Elli stared at me, flapping her hands in my eyes with a wondering expression. "You there, Gill?" She called quietly, finally grabbing my shoulders and shaking them gently. I blinked once, and then again soon after.

"Oh, sorry." I apologised, with a faint blush arising on my cheeks. "No, I guess I wasn't paying much attention…" I answered to her question.

Elli chuckled lightly. "That's right… Lost in your own little world, right?" She joked, leaning down to sit on her chair again.

It had been a while since Elli had last teased me, especially with that little joke. She'd always catch me staring blankly at her piles of work, or she'd see me randomly smile during the day- and she used to often tease me about it. Not that I minded, too much. After all, she was right, I was lost in my 'own little world' as she called it. I guess I could assume she had got over Angela's depression now, well perhaps not completely. All I could say is, I certainly wasn't. Which reminded me that she wasn't here. Where was she? She wouldn't spend the whole day at her farm, even in her ghostly presence; she hated the smell of the place. I really needed to see her… what if the villagers weren't treating her right? Or she had rather stupidly decided to go mining?

My eyes fell on Elli. "Hey, do you think I could pop out for a minute?" I mumbled.

Her head popped up, and looked at me peculiarly. "What's wrong with you?" She asked, standing up again.

"I'll take that as a no." I sighed quietly.

"No, I mean… are you sick?" She corrected herself, as she rested her hand on my forehead. "You certainly haven't got a temperature."

"I don't have to be sick to have a break, do I?" I muttered. "You take breaks all the time, and you're never sick."

Elli raised an eyebrow. "No… you don't. But, you've never approved of breaks, Gill." That's true. I had frequently complained that she took to many breaks off. Her argument would always be that she hated staying cooped up in the Hall all day when she could enjoy the fresh, pure air of the town. I had always told her they were a waste of time, and my father wasn't paying her to take walks around.

I glared at her. "Well, I do now. I'll see you in an hour or so." I told her.

"Alright Gill…" She mumbled, walking slowly behind her desk. "What do I tell your father if he rings for you?"

"Just tell him I'm busy working." I answered. "He'll hopefully understand I'm busy."

She nodded lightly and scribbled it down. "I'll see you later." She called as I strode to the door.

I returned her goodbye and headed off. I'd probably try the inn; it was the most likely place I'd find her.

--

I rushed into her bar, not pleased with what I saw. Angela certainly wasn't here, but there certainly _was _a heavy drinker here. And it smelled awful; it reeked of stale fish, if that was possible. I used to visit frequently, to have a meal. But, since Angela had gotten into the state she was in, I had cleverly decided it was not the right time to drop by as often as I did. So I have cut back a lot, to the point where I didn't even bother going at all, I saw no point in it anymore.

"Huh? Is that- Gill!" I heard someone call, and I reluctantly turned my head. A blonde with two high bunches skipped over, waving her hand excitedly. "You haven't dropped by for ages, Gill!" She whined.

"I've been busy, that's all." I told her, catching the sympathetic glance from the barmaid.

Maya shook her head flamboyantly. "You're never to busy to stop by here!" She disagreed, ushering me towards a table with Owen on it.

"I'm not here to buy anything, Maya." I sighed. "I'm just looking for Angela."

"Don't be silly!" Maya giggled, pushing me down onto the chair opposite Owen. "You can look for her later, I'm sure your tummy's empty with all the work you've been doing!"

"I'm not hungry… Especially since I haven't actually started _working _yet." I held back the urge to strangle the enthusiastic girl with all patience inside of me.

"Pah! You're just being modest!" Her voice echoed annoyingly through the room. "I'll go get you something, okay?" She asked, and before I could say no, she fled from the table and into the small kitchen, where Chase gave her a well-deserved scowl.

"So…" Owen mumbled, causing me to look up, irritated. He flinched at my hard stare, and twiddled his fingers. "How's Angela? I haven't seen her for a while."

"I don't suppose anyone has," I growled out, leaning frustratedly into the palms of my hands. I realised what I had said was true; she had spent every day between today and the… event, at the Town Hall. She probably felt most secure there, since I was her closest friend of sorts. And I wasn't complaining- it meant I could keep an eye on her. It _would_ drive me insane if I couldn't keep an eye on her every day whilst she was like this. That was probably why I was searching for her… I needed to know if she was alright in the state that she was in. I didn't need more guilt…

Owen raised an eyebrow, both at my words, and my temper. "Huh? What do you mean by that? She's not hurt or anything, is she?"

I rolled my eyes at all his questions. "Not physically." I answered, crossing my arms across my chest.

"Woah! You mean… Emotional? That's not good!" He figured out quickly, worry afflicted across his face. "Is she alright? As in, are you looking after her properly?"

"Yeah, she's doing okay." I fibbed, his eyes abruptly turning away. I couldn't stand the intensity of Owen's eyes.

Owen raised an eyebrow. "Define: Okay." He asked curiously, his hands intertwined and rested on the table as he looked over at me with interest. I fidgeted under his hard stare, and moments later let out a frustrated sigh.

"Oh alright!" I yelled out loud, leaning forward. "She… she's doing horrible." I let out, snapping my eyes shut to refuse the pictures to float back into my mind. "She just acts like a ghost, she won't frown, she won't smile! She looks a mess, she refuses to talk much, she ignores everyone…" I went on quietly, my hands clasping each other tightly on my lap. Just then made me realise just how bad she was. How everything she did, and everything she said had brought me agony inside, she had wrenched every emotion from my body as she pleased, and yet, I had allowed her to. She was really something.

"Wow…" Owen mumbled quietly, scratching his head. "She… does sound pretty bad, doesn't she?" I nodded bleakly, my eyes cast down to the table. "That doesn't mean she can't get better without help though! You and me will help her, alright? We just need a little faith, that's all." He declared, pretty determined as he thrust his fist onto the table. I watched it shake for a moment, before looking up at him.

"I guess…" I sighed, unsure.

"That's right! We better get going then, shouldn't we? You said you needed to find her." He asked, standing up and gesturing me to do the same.

It was nice to know he had faith in her now, but what would he do when he _saw _her? "Yeah… I did. But what about Maya?"

The blonde girl popped out her head from the kitchen door, with a bright smile. "Did you say my name?" She asked, but furrowed her brow when she saw that we were stood up. "Where are you going?!" She exclaimed, running up to us. "Chase is making some yummy food for you two! Sit down! Please?" She begged as we made our way to the door. "Business is bad, Gill! You're wasting our food, and we don't have enough!" She cried out as Owen reached for the door handle.

"Look," I said, fumbling through my pockets. I thrust a handful of change into her hand. "I'm not hungry, but here's some money for the trouble I've caused. Now if you would excuse us, we have someone to find."

She nodded sadly, but watched as we walked off.

--

"I don't know what you were thinking checking the inn, Gill." Owen said, turning his head to me. "I mean, from what you've described her as, and sorry if this is wrong- but she doesn't sound at all in the right state to go socializing in a place like there."

I shrugged, but had to admit he was right. "It's the first place that popped up in my head." I explained as we walked on. "Anyway, where are we checking now?"

"Well, I decided to think of places she might go to in her state. So I thought of the quietest, calmest girl in the town, and bingo! We hadn't checked there yet so, we're off to check Candace's!"

"Candace? Huh… That's not a bad idea. Shame that the loudest, impatient girl is her sister." I sighed, but decided it would be best to check out there anyway.

"Ah, I forgot about Luna… She still might be there though- till we check, we'll never know."

--

The bell rung above the door, and Luna's attention was drawn to us. "Why are you here, Gill?" She asked, as she narrowed her eyes. "You buy your clothes from the city, for whatever reason." Luna had never had much liking towards me, it probably had something to do with her last comment. I brought clothes from the city; and why shouldn't I? They didn't sell the clothes I liked, and yet she took offence that I didn't buy anything from them. She didn't have this hatred towards my father, and he brought his clothes from the city as well. But… he was the mayor, I suppose.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not here to buy clothes, Luna. I'm here for Angela. Is she here?" I asked.

Luna glared at me. "We're not some stupid shelter, we are a _shop_. You either come here to buy some clothes or you go."

"Luna, let them stay." I heard from the back of the shop. Shelly gave me a small smile as she beckoned us closer. I couldn't help but notice the obvious grimace on Luna's face as we walked past her.

"But, grandma!" She cried out, crossing her arms frustratedly. "People will start coming here to hang out instead of shop!" She complained.

Shelly shook her head disgracefully. "It's nice to have a little company once in a while," She argued. "And in any case, they're clearly very worried about the poor, ghastly girl in the backroom." I wasn't the only one to notice it, I wasn't imagining this all up, I hadn't made up Angela's condition. And to a certain extent, it relaxed me to know I wasn't insane. But that was swallowed up when I realised that meant she wasn't alright. She really was sickly.

I pursed my lips. "Angela's back there?" I asked quietly. Shelly nodded. "Ah… would you mind if we checked on her to see if she's alright?"

"What is wrong with her?" Shelly whispered to the two of us. "She seems very sickly, Gill… What have you done to her?"

"She's not sick, Shelly. She's just in a lot of pain at the moment." I explained, not making a whole lot of sense.

"Hm… That doesn't make much sense. But I guess you can go on back. Candace is keeping her company at the moment, I'm sure she'll be pleased for you to take over so she can get on with her work."

We nodded and went into the backroom, where in the corner, Candace and Angela sat silently on the sofa. "S-so, are you sure you're… alright?" Candace attempted conversation. I watched as Angela looked at her, and nodded her head.

"I'm fine…" She insisted.

I thought it was time for me to make our appearance acknowledged. "Uh… Hello Candace." I called, and me and Owen approached the corner.

"Gill?" Angela whispered, her eyes looking up at me with great intensity. "Hello…" She greeted quietly, to which I smiled and said hello. Her voice was soft, yet emotionless in many ways; there was no spring in the words, it was like what she was saying- she was told to say. It felt as if she didn't mean what she said, that she wasn't there when she spoke it.

"W-what are you doing… back here?" Candace asked, a blush arising to her cheeks. "W-where's Luna?"

"Shelly said we could come back here when I mentioned Angela's name, of course… Luna wasn't very pleased." I explained, rubbing Angela's shoulder.

"A-ah…" Candace mumbled, standing up slowly. "I-I better get back to work…" She said, to excuse herself as she exited the room.

Owen watched her leave, and turned his attention to Angela. "She's pretty bad, Gill… I thought you were exaggerating." He murmured to me, as he furrowed his brow worriedly.

"Yeah… I know she is." I sighed, irritated at myself. Angela looked terrible, to say the least. Though she was finally talking, her eyes were bloodshot, she had bags under her eyes, she looked incredibly pale, and she just looked… fragile, useless. And it drove me insane that even though she was like this because of that one guy, there was guilt that dangerously hung over my life, and threatened to squash me under it's weight. And my god, it put a lot of stress on me to help her, because I felt it was my fault, even if everyone insisted it wasn't.

"We need to help her _fast_!"

* * *

**Note: **Wow, this is the longest chapter out of the three already written. I kind of got carried away, and I had plenty of time since it's HALF TERM! It's Valentine's Day tomorrow, hope you all have fun. Don't forget it's Chinese New Year as well, I'm half Chinese so I won't forget! Please tell me what you think of this chapter, review!


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